Highly recommend reading up on crunching the numbers, getting real numbers to work with for expenses, insurance, reserves, etc...

I crunched the numbers, and because I was sooo eager to buy, they didn't look too bad to me.

So, you would say that the two key drivers, in order to protect any unforeseen downside are the following: (1) location (*which is worth its weight in gold), and (2) crunch the numbers (*need to make sure the mortgage, HOI, capex fund, and any other incidentals are covered).

Are there competitive advantages that can be gained from crunching numbers in real estate?

Some forms involve more numbers crunching, others about dealing with people.

Anything from providing recommendations to helping crunch numbers!

If you're looking at SFH, just be aware that like most of the country, we're in a little bit of inventory crunch locally (at least through the MLS), so you'll be competing for MLS properties with not only other investors but your retail buyers as well.

As far as actually crunching the numbers, Pro Formas are mostly fantasy land projections. 

I'm also going to start crunching the numbers on some flips in my area to see if it would be worth it. 

I then crunch the preliminary numbers and insert them into BP's flip calculator ..Then I send a email off to potential investors/partners with hyperlinks to all the sites i can find that provide information on the property.